Wonderfully Made - MOPS



Wonderfully Made

Icebreaker suggestions:

1. How would you describe yourself?

Have everyone form a circle. Start with one person introducing themselves using their first name preceded by a descriptive adjective - for instance - you might be "Marvelous Mary" and I might be "Righteous Roy."

Here is the catch, when it is your turn, you first have to say everybody's name before you. If I was the 2nd person after you, I would say "Marvelous Mary", "Righteous Roy." If ticklish TOM" were the 3rd person, he would say "M.. M...", "R... R...", "Ticklish Tom." Needless to say, it does provide some interesting results, it breaks the ice, and it gets people to know each other on a more informal, first name basis.

*You could even have them write their names on a nametag and stick them on a mannequin or “pin the tail on the donkey” style poster.

2. TP

I always have fun with the toilet paper opener! Pass a roll of TP to the first person closest to you and merely say, "Take as much as you think you need and pass the TP to the next person.” Don't offer any more information. Once the TP has gone around the room, say to the group, "For every square you tore off, use one word to describe yourself.” Put those words on a poster.

Psalms 139:13-16 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.

Listen to this story about David and the sons of Zeruiah. (Leap Over the Wall, Eugene H. Peterson: Chapter 12 Intro)

“They’re wearing me out, these sons of Zeruiah. I know that I’m God’s anointed. I know that I’ve been preserved against formidable odds – Goliath and Saul, Philistine wars and wilderness danger – to do this work of becoming human, becoming a person capable of representing God as king, of bringing God’s people into lives of worship and love and obedience; but these sons of Zeruiah are wearing me out. Their vendettas, their plots, their jealousies, their anger; ….they’re wearing me out. I know that God is the one with whom I have to do, and I know that the task before me is glorious, but these sons of Zeruiah are wearing me out. They take so much time, require so much watching. It seems like I’m spending all my time putting out the fires they set, straightening out the quarrels they start. They think that they’re on my side; they think that they’re helping; they think that I should be grateful to them. But they don’t understand God among us. They have no idea that we’re here as God’s people – not Saul’s, not David’s but God’s. They don’t understand that our task isn’t to take over and run things efficiently but to enter into what God is doing and give witness to that. These sons of Zeruiah are wearing me out; they’re too much for me.”

Who are you?

Are you a mother, daughter, sister, aunt, friend…..taxi driver, cook, housekeeper, pooper scooper, late night nurse for the ill, multi-tasker but not by choice…..doormat? How did you describe yourself during the ice breaker? If we’re being honest, we all have moments when we think less than pleasant thoughts about ourselves. We’re hard on ourselves and it’s easier to listen to the negative voices than the positive.

Who does God say you are?

• John 1:12 – I am God's Child

• Ephesians 1:5 - I have been adopted as God’s child.

• Colossians 2:10 - I have been adopted as God’s child.

• Romans 8:35-39 - I cannot be separated from the love of God

• Acts 1:8 - I am a personal witness of Christ’s

• Ephesians 2:10 - I am God’s workmanship

• Psalm 139:13-14 – Fearfully and wonderfully made.

Let's read that last one. Psalm 139: 13-16, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place, when I was woven together in the depths of the earth. Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

Me? God even cared enough to ordain the days of my life. What does ordain mean? Ordain: To prescribe or determine something. The origin of middle English says, put in order.

In what order have you lived your life? Did you swim before you walked? Did you go to college before high school? No. Why? Because there is an order in which we live our lives, a natural progression of learning. Think about your major life experiences. Write a few of them down. (Pause to give time for this.)

Have you ever really thought about where you were when you had those big moments in life? What I’m talking about is geographically speaking. The word where is a specific location. If I had to guess, I’d say you could write down the exact location of each major event in your life.

(Personal story from your life) [Ex: I think back to when I had my first child. We were living in Fort Worth, Texas at the time. I was 32 weeks pregnant and decided to go shopping out of town, 45 minutes away. During that trip I started to feel funny. It’s hard to describe but it was uncomfortable to walk. We returned home and called the doctor. As a precaution, I went to the hospital. After three hours and little going on, they were about to discharge me when I went into full blown labor. The doctor and nurses frantically tried to stop labor but made a last minute decision to transfer me by ambulance to a different hospital with specialists. Long story short, after living in the hospital for three weeks, being sent home and then returning in another emergency situation for an emergency c-section, I delivered a 4lb 8oz healthy girl. I could have easily died during delivery but I didn’t.]

The location, where I was, played an important role in this story of my life. God knows exactly where I was yesterday and will be today and tomorrow. This story turned out well; some of my stories do not but I know God ordained all the days of my life. He knows where we are, where we are going and in what order. I am fearfully and wonderfully made. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Do you know this full well?

Let's read that again.

Psalms 139:13-16. “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”

These verses are not about a certain point of David’s life but instead how God sees David. I love how David points out “your eyes saw”. I think how man was made in the image of God and all the senses we have. I am in awe that God sees us. He sees each of our unformed bodies. Before we were born, he knew and saw us. He also saw “all the days ordained for me”.

I believe God saw what my personality would look like, what my choices would be and how I would live my life.

Remember my opening story? It was about David and the sons of Zeruiah. This story is brief in the Bible but so telling of our relationships these days. These three sons were for a lack of better words giving David grief. David’s life has always fascinated me. He has fallen off the white horse many times and yet is referred to as a man after God’s own heart. This story comes from the book Leap Over the Wall by Eugene Peterson. He walks through David’s life and chronicles the stories in a new interpretation. David is at a point in 2 Samuel where he is frustrated and worn out trying to lead the sons of Zeruiah.

Do you ever feel worn out trying to lead your group?

I remember a time when I could relate in a way to this sentence. “Their vendettas, their plots, their jealousies, their anger; ….they’re wearing me out. I know that God is the one with whom I have to do, and I know that the task before me is glorious, but these sons of Zeruiah are wearing me out.” I think of my kids sometimes. We’ve all had less than stellar mom or leadership moments when we’ve reacted in a way we’ve regretted, when we weren’t as loving as we would like to have been.

At the end of Peterson’s interpretation, he states David’s job as a leader is “to enter into what God is doing and give witness to that”. Wow, what an impact we could make if we remembered to enter into what God is doing rather than use our own agenda. Remember, we are wonderfully made, designed to enter into what God is doing and give witness to that. That witness is the impact we have on others.

Think about this for a minute. What do you see when you look at someone? Have you ever “people watched” before and looked at how they interact with one another?

Have you ever thought about how others view you? What do you think they see when they “people watch”? Whether you realize it or not, you are impacting those around you. Verse 16 of Psalm 139 says, “All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be”. Wow. God saw and wrote down all the days of your life before you were born. He knows your name, your story, your characteristics and the impact you will have on others.

One of the many things I love about MOPS is how relational it is. MOPS knows we are better together. We as women are very relational.

How are you using your story to invest and impact others?

At times as a leader I can feel overwhelmed by the need to try and impact as many moms as possible. Instead, I want to challenge you to narrow your view and target just one.

Who is the mom that talks to you at MOPS meetings or responds to others’ posts on Facebook?

I am going to encourage you over the next several months to invest in just one mom. I want you to connect with her, encourage her and mentor her. Use your story, your unique characteristics to impact one potential MOPS mom.

What ideas do you have to invest in and develop that one leader?

Investing in one mom does not mean that you ignore or not cultivate other relationships and conversations in regards to developing leaders who come your way, but rather developing a deeper relationship one at a time.

I think at times Satan loves to make us feel inadequate. He loves to whisper in our ear, you aren’t good enough. What are you doing here? Why don’t you quit?

We are fearfully and wonderfully made. We were knit together and God saw US. He ordained all the days of our lives. He created us with purpose, with a story and to impact those around us.

Who will you plan to impact?

Optional: Play We Are by Kari Jobe or The Truth About Me by Mandisa and allow leaders time to journal their thoughts.

Resource: Eugene H. Peterson, Leap Over A Wall

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